Janet Yellen Strong Candidate For US Finance Minister Makes Rupiah Open Stronger

JAKARTA - The rupiah exchange rate on the spot market opened higher on trading Tuesday, December 1. The rupiah opened up 0.02 percent to a level of Rp14,117 per US dollar (US).

Monex Investindo Futures Head Researcher, Ariston Tjendra, said market sentiment looks quite positive this morning. The vaccine that will be released is still a positive sentiment, although on the other hand the COVID-19 cases are getting higher.

"The news about Janet Yellen's nomination as US finance minister can also provide positive sentiment for risky assets. Yellen, who is a former governor of the US Central Bank, can work together and align the economic recovery program with the policies of the current Fed governor," Ariston told VOI.

According to him, the rupiah could be helped to strengthen today after being depressed yesterday due to profit taking at the JCI. Another data that needs attention is Indonesia's inflation data.

"If the data shows an increase, it will be positive for the rupiah. Because the increase in inflation could indicate a recovery in consumption. The potential range of the rupiah today is IDR 14,050-14,200 per US dollar," he explained.

This morning, the majority of currencies in Asia were observed to have weakened against the US dollar. The Japanese yen weakened 0.04 percent, the South Korean won fell 0.08 percent.

Then the Philippine peso weakened 0.02 percent, the Indian rupee fell 0.22 percent, the Chinese yuan strengthened 0.06 percent, and the Malaysian ringgit weakened 0.18 percent.

Meanwhile the Singapore dollar strengthened 0.16 percent and the Taiwan dollar strengthened 0.04 percent, while the Thai baht edged up 0.01 percent.